35 year-old barista (and listener) Charlynn Schmiedt shares about having misophonia which is a "fight or flight" physical response to certain everyday sounds, such as gum chewing, throat clearing etc. and the complications and misunderstanding that arise out of having to interact with people who don't think it is a "real thing". Charlynn also shares about having an eating disorder in her 20s as well as depression and anxiety. Her husband Patrick sits in to also share what it is like to live with...
Feb 10, 2017•2 hr 40 min
The podcaster (RISK!) and sketch actor (The State) talks about learning to "own his weirdness". From being a gay kid in a conservative town to being the black sheep in The State he has battled the paralysis and fear of not being perfect or even good enough. He shares about his attempt at being a prostitute, the 12 year gap between The State ending and him starting Risk! and how he learned to find his authentic voice when he was at his lowest and how he still struggles to act and feel like a grow...
Feb 03, 2017•2 hr 33 min
The anxious only child of a drunk/rager mom and a passive dad shares about her family's combination of material wealth and emotional ignorance/poverty. She talks about her fear of "just being" instead of always "doing", including triathlons & rock climbing, her ongoing battles with disordered eating -especially binging- , her all-or-nothing thinking and struggles with intimacy while being married and having a family. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp online therapy. To learn more (and ...
Jan 27, 2017•2 hr 46 min
The 40 year-old public administrator talks about "losing her humanity" being assigned to work on a criminal defense unit on behalf of sexually violent predators and the anxiety, panic and breakdowns that followed. She also talks about her chaotic and abusive upbringing which included her father molesting her brother, domestic violence and her coping by becoming a rescuer. This episode is sponsored by the online therapy provider BetterHelp.com To try out a week of counseling for free go to www.Be...
Jan 20, 2017•2 hr 22 min
The writer and director of Inside Amy Schumer, co-creator of Chapelle's Show and standup comic (3 Mics coming soon on Netflix) talks about being one of ten kids raised by a violent alcoholic father and his struggles today with trusting his feelings and needs and dealing with his anger especially with partners. He also talks about his relationship with Dave Chapelle and the conflicts and emotions he experienced when Dave decided to stop doing the show. Neal's standup special 3 Mics debuts Jan 17t...
Jan 13, 2017•2 hr 33 min
The 30 year-old freelance journalist and Pilates teacher doesn't have anything dramatic to point to in her life, yet she has struggled to find her voice in life with bad relationships, eating disorders, depression, body dysmorphia, and intense fears of rejection and feeling excluded. Paul and Amanda peel back the layers to try to find out what's underneath. To learn more about Amanda, go to www.AmandaBloom.com Follow her on Twitter @AmandaJBloom This episode is sponsored by ZipRecruiter.com List...
Jan 06, 2017•1 hr 57 min
At 16 he was playing drums at CBGB and Max's Kansas City as the punk scene exploded. After destroying his career (Pianosaurus, King Missile) he got sober. The PsyD & MFT explains his extensive work with treating trauma victims (especially those with addictions) by using EMDR. He talks about the difficulty people have in calling what happened to them "trauma" and why the label isn't important. He shares his personal experiences and insights about bullying, Buddhism, self-sabotage, spiritualit...
Dec 30, 2016•2 hr 10 min
The 31 year-old ex-model (Vogue, Vanity Fair) discusses surviving incest by her mother (who was also an alcoholic with BiPolar and DID aka Multiple Personality Disorder) and a lifetime of battling eating disorders (binging, bulimia, anorexia), psychosis, Body Dysmorphic Disorder, depression, anxiety, alcoholism and drug and sex addiction. She reflects on the physical and emotional bottom that finally made her walk away from modeling and seek help, ironically as her emaciated body was more desira...
Dec 23, 2016•3 hr 4 min
Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato have produced and/or directed some of Paul's favorite documentaries, including Mapplethorpe: Look At The Pictures, 101 Rent Boys and Monica in Black & White. They sit down with Paul to talk about their newest film, Every Brilliant Thing which debuts on HBO Dec 26th and tackles the subject of finding joy in life's little things when we're surrounded by darkness. Paul also talks to them about their days as struggling artists in the East Village during the beginn...
Dec 22, 2016•40 min
The 19 year-old college sophomore opens with a letter she wrote to her 16 year-old self who was so tired of the years of depression, anxiety self-hate, bullying, co-dependence, perfectionism, Crohn's Disease and feeling like a burden that she was on the verge of taking her life. Her dad, Alan sits in on the session to occasionally share his perspective on her struggles, their family dynamics and what he might have done differently. This episode is sponsored by American Public Media's podcast The...
Dec 16, 2016•1 hr 52 min
The 25 year-old professional basketball player opens up to a live audience about mental health issues not only in his life (OCD, panic attacks and anxiety) but societally, especially in the NBA where he played, and in the relationships between POC and police officers. Royce shares about being raised by a single mom in a culturally diverse extended family. Check out Royce's mental health foundation www.anxiousminds.org Follow him on Twitter @Highway_30 This episode is sponsored by http://www.trea...
Dec 09, 2016•2 hr 31 min
Author/life-coach April Adams clarifies what an "energy healer" actually does despite it sounding like new-age b.s. She talks about techniques she has used to deal with her childhood trauma and heal others. She opens up about her experiences with swinging, sexual fluidity, embracing her attraction to women fairly late in life and possible love addiction/fear of intimacy in her same-sex marriage. April's book is Essence: Ending Emptiness, Finding Fulfillment Her websites are www.AprilAdams.org an...
Dec 02, 2016•2 hr 30 min
The 34 year-old British writer/comedian/performer shares about the pain of her parents' nasty divorce when she was a kid, especially her father using her as a pawn and poisoning her mind about her mother. She also shares about her depression and only being turned on by men who treat her badly or are in some way unavailable. She talks about her struggle to not equate her self-worth with her career ups and downs and overcome her fear of not being enough. This episode is sponsored by MVMT watches. ...
Nov 25, 2016•2 hr 8 min
The actor/comedian (@Midnight) opens up about his recent suicide attempt, psych ward stay and how it is motivating him to seek help and try to be a better husband, father and friend. He shares about trying to break the cycle of bad parenting and untreated addiction/mental illness in his family and learn how to identify and express his emotions instead of coping with his anxiety and depression by getting high. He also expresses his regret in being a bad parent to his 2 daughters, a bad husband to...
Nov 18, 2016•2 hr 36 min
Only hugged once in her life by her mother, 25 year-old Yohana is the daughter of conservative East African war refugees from Ethiopia & Eritrea. All her life she has buried her rage by wearing the "good girl" mask to try to placate her narcissistic mother and having to be someone else to survive as a kid growing up in Oakland where there were some fixed ideas of what makes someone an "authentic African-American". She shares about living with a learning disability, having physically disabled...
Nov 04, 2016•2 hr 25 min
The 31 year-old writer discusses feminism, sexual violence and misogyny in the context of partisan politics, and her personal life. She shares about the complexities of marrying a Muslim, growing up being told "you're too sensitive", avoiding her emotions by achieving, hating her body, fighting the drill sergeant in her head and learning the power of being vulnerable and letting go of shame. Jamie's links Facebook: facebook.com/jamievaron Twitter: twitter.com/jamievaron Instagram: instagram.com/...
Oct 28, 2016•2 hr 38 min
Jeff is Paul's friend of 28 years and the son of former guest and Holocaust survivor Kristine Keese. He shares about her recent passing, their deep but complicated relationship, how he made peace with her being "a terrible mom but a great friend" and the book she wrote Shadows of Survival: A Child's Memoir of the Warsaw Ghetto. Buy Kristine's book here. Follow Jeff on Twitter @Jeff_Rosie Visit Jeff's Facebook page This episode is sponsored by Meundies. For 20% off your first order go to www.meun...
Oct 21, 2016•2 hr 28 min
The writer/improviser shares about the mental/emotional breakdown her freshman year of college at NYU that left her living in her car and squatting in empty buildings in New York City. She looks back on her childhood and the familial love that was so often conditional, based on her weight and appearance. She opens up about the body shaming women in her family unconsciously modeled for her, her relationship with food, difficulty setting boundaries with toxic people and finding out what she really...
Oct 14, 2016•2 hr 42 min
The 33 year-old listener was the woman who comforted Murray Valeriano during our live episode last week. From a blended family with every kind of abuse imaginable, including her church elder step-grandfather who molested her, her descent into meth and drinking, finding sobriety, and getting therapy for her traumas. This episode is sponsored by Casper Mattresses. Visit www.casper.com/mental This episode is sponsored by Criquet Shirts. For 20% off your first purchase visit www.criquetshirts.com/me...
Oct 07, 2016•2 hr 46 min
The comedian/writer/podcaster had never talked much about losing his virginity at 15 to a 32 year-old tutor. Tonight that changed and so did his view of the event and aftermath. He also opens up about being a preacher's kid (who wasn't even allowed to see Footloose), being a father and the role "forbidden" music played in helping him cope as young man. If you would like to watch video of this episode, it will be archived at www.lapodfest.com (with all the other shows at the festival) until Oct 2...
Sep 30, 2016•2 hr 30 min
The producer/host of WNYC's Snap Judgment shares about being raised in a fundamentalist Christian cult, strategies he's used to survive racism, what he learned by visiting Japan as a college student, his struggles with bipolar and his family's history of mental illness especially his late brother. This episode is sponsored by Young Health's Probimune. For your first bottle free (plus $6.75 shipping) go to www.Probimune.com and use offer code MENTAL. For more information on LAPodfest go to www.LA...
Sep 23, 2016•2 hr 43 min
You probably know her as the little girl from Matilda or Mrs. Doubtfire but you probably don't know that's around the time she lost her mom, developed OCD, anxiety, depression and panic attacks and that today she is an advocate for mental health. She is also a playwright, author (Where Am I Now?) and still occasionally acts. This episode is sponsored by Probimune. For your first bottle free and just $6.75 Shipping/handling go to www.Probimune.com and use offer code MENTAL Buy Mara's new book Whe...
Sep 16, 2016•2 hr 33 min
The psychiatrist and therapist talks about sexual trauma in the military, powerful men who fear intimacy, meds, treating personality disorders, doing therapy via Skype, the therapy process and why insurance companies suck. Check out Dr Dabney's site www.drldabney.com Buy tix to see MIHH at LAPodfest Sept 23-25 www.lapodfest.com (MIHH is recording Sun. Sept 25th at 9pm) This episode is sponsored by Chicagoland Out of the Darkness Walk by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevent www.chicagowalk...
Sep 09, 2016•2 hr 13 min
The comedian and actress talks her anxiety and depression, being raised in an incredibly anxious household, being bullied throughout childhood for her height (she was six feet tall in 8th grade), and raising two boys in a same sex marriage. This episode is sponsored by Young Health's Probimune. For 50% of your first order go to www.probimune.com and use offer code MENTAL at checkout. This episode is sponsored by Meundies. For 20% of your first order go to www.meundies.com/mental Follow Judy on T...
Sep 02, 2016•1 hr 51 min
"My coach raped me over 200 times". The truth that Theo almost died trying to keep to himself. Only when he hit bottom with drugs, sex and gambling could he summon the courage to face what had happened when he was a rising 14 year-old phenom. He talks about his childhood, his hockey career, getting sober and his post-career mission of raising awareness and trying to change outdated sentencing laws that allow sexual predators to continue to abuse in Canada, especially the new documentary about it...
Aug 26, 2016•3 hr 3 min
Sarah shares about her mother's battles with Borderline Personality Disorder, her relationship with such a "beautifully disastrously complicated" woman, Sarah's own battles with bulimia, anxiety, and co-dependency and the role exercise has played in helping her moods. This episode is sponsored by Blue Apron. For your first 3 meals free (with free shipping) go to www.blueapron.com/mental Follow Sarah on Twitter @Smartypants_Inc www.twitter.com/smartypants_inc To read the Salon article she wrote a...
Aug 19, 2016•2 hr 43 min
You hear the phrase "love yourself" a lot. But how do we get there? Maddy's story is a great example. She was molested by a relative (and church leader) but didn't feel safe enough to speak up about it for years. Then she got help and everything changed. This episode is sponsored by Casper Mattresses. To find out more go to www.casper.com/mental To buy tickets for the In This Together Festival on Nov 13th go to www.ittfest.com To buy watch or attend LAPodfest Sept 23-25 go to www.lapodfest.com a...
Aug 12, 2016•2 hr 8 min
The reality TV producer (Somebody's Gotta Do It) opens up about his depression, social anxiety, history of unrequited love obsessions - especially as a kid, getting sober from prescription opiates and smoking speed thru a broken light bulb! This episode is sponsored by BlueApron. To get your first three meals free (with FREE shipping) go to www.blueapron.com/mental This episode is sponsored by SquareSpace for 10% off your first purchase go to www.squarespace.com and use offer code MENTAL For mor...
Aug 04, 2016•2 hr 45 min
28 year-old Cynthia Pena ACSW opens up about her life, experiencing skin tone prejudice within the Hispanic community, being the "good child" who gets forgotten, anxiety, triggers, working in an overloaded county system helping children with severe or persistent mental illnesses and her dream of expanding the role of mental health in athletics. Follow Cyndi on Twitter @Ms_Cyndi_Pena For more information on Paul's appearance at LAPodfest Sept 23-25 go to www.lapodfest.com and use offer code HAPPY...
Jul 29, 2016•2 hr 31 min
Paul's support group friend and writer talks about weighing 95 lbs at 5 years-old, being in foster homes and psych wards, surviving incest, learning self-love and dealing with addictions to food and abusive men. This episode is sponsored by Blue Apron. To see this month's menu and your first three meals free (including free delivery) go to www.blueapron.com/mental See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at...
Jul 22, 2016•2 hr 37 min
